IBM announced Thursday the growth comes courtesy Ustream Inc., a San Francisco-based company which was purchased by IBM. The move means the Cloud Video Service Unit at IBM will continue doing what it does combining assets from IBM’s R&D labs and strategic acquisitions. IBM will deliver a powerful portfolio of video services that spans open API development, digital and visual analytics, simplified management and consistent delivery across global industries.

The acquisition strengthens IBM’s activities in the sector as Ustream provides cloud-based video streaming to enterprises and broadcasters for everything from corporate keynotes to live music concerts. The company streams live and on-demand video to about 80 million viewers per month for customers such as NASA, Samsung, Facebook, Nike and The Discovery Channel.

“Video has become a first-class data type in business that requires accelerated performance and powerful analytics that allows clients to extract meaningful insights,” IBM Cloud senior vice president Robert LeBlanc stated in a company release. “Aligning our expansive video and cloud innovations into an integrated unit will create opportunities for clients to take advantage of this medium in the most strategic way possible.”

Ustream CEO Brad Hunstable stated being added to IBM’s stable is a good move not only for the two companies but for video in general.

“Video is the most powerful and emotional medium,” Hunstable stated. “Increasingly it is becoming the favored form of communication, not just for entertainment, but also for business. We’ve built a video platform that is easy-to-use, yet incredibly scalable, secure and powerful and it is these qualities that made us an ideal addition to IBM’s portfolio.”